Latest Lessons

In last month’s column, I discussed some of the ways I will often expand on single-note riff ideas by substituting full-voiced chords for individual notes. This month, I’d like to continue with that topic and talk about my approach to using dissonant intervals in chords and as double-stops (two-note chords).

Just like the headline says, here's an official Guitar World video of Joe Satriani showing you how to play his signature 1987 tune, "Satch Boogie." The track is from Satch’s landmark Surfing with the Alien album, which garnered tremendous AOR play and, ultimately, gold record status—both almost unheard of for a guitar instrumental lap.

In this lesson, Kenny discusses 7th chords and how they can be used to enhance any blues progression. He also demonstrates short forms of the chords that can be used for a softer sound. While discussing the 7th chords, he also talks about some of Jimi Hendrix's favorites. Check out the lesson video below — complete with video.

Freddie King is among the triumvirate of the greatest and most influential electric blues guitarists ever, revered with equal respect alongside the legendary blues gods B.B King and Albert King. Together, they are often referred to as "The Three Kings"—all complete masters of their craft and essential subjects of study for any inspiring blues guitar enthusiast.

The Eighties was a decade of unrivaled guitar heroism. And one of its greatest heroes is also one of its greatest villains. Steve Vai's nefarious turn in the 1986 film Crossroads sent legions of kids scurrying to their metronomes in hot pursuit of his blistering neoclassical chops.

One key to becoming a more versatile blues soloist is learning to combine the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scales to create guitar lines that go beyond the minor pentatonic scale. As a prerequisite to this lesson, you should have a basic understanding of the finger positionings for the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scales, particularly the first and second positions of both scales.

We tend to play what we practice. Those of us who practice regularly with a metronome are practicing our lines, scales, and arpeggios on the beat. Thus your phrases and lines end up starting and ending on the beat. While there's nothing wrong with this, I find that phrasing like this makes the music feel heavy-footed and less than exciting to listen to.

When learning how to play jazz, and other improvisational genres of music, learning how to play the seven modes of melodic minor is an essential skill any guitarist should have in their soloing tool belt. While we know that learning the seven modes of melodic minor is important, sometimes it can seem like a tough task, and we feel we have to start from scratch when learning these seven modes.